Knox Hilliard's uncle killed his father to marry his mother and gain control of the family's Fortune 100 company. Knox is set to inherit the company on his 40th birthday, provided he has a wife and an heir, but he never really wanted it in the first place.

Now, after his bride is murdered on their wedding day and his backup bride poses such a threat to their uncle that he's tried to kill her-twice-Knox refuses to fulfill The Proviso at all. Then he meets a woman he may not be able to resist long enough to keep her safe.

His cousin, notorious and eccentric financier Sebastian Taight, would have raided the company long ago simply to destroy his despised uncle. For Knox's sake, he did nothing-until their cousin Giselle barely escaped assassination. The gloves come off, but Sebastian may have jumped in too deep, as the SEC steps in, then Congress threatens to get involved.

Giselle Cox struggles under the weight of having exposed the affair that set her uncle's plot in motion-twenty years ago. As Knox's childhood sweetheart, she's also the most convenient way for Knox to inherit. Their uncle has twice tried to eliminate her, leaving her bankrupt and hoping to get through Knox's 40th birthday alive.

None of them want the company, but two people have been murdered for it and Giselle is under constant threat because of it. What they want now is justice, but as embroiled as they are in their war, the last thing any of them expect to find on the battlefield is love.

REVIEW

I must say, to pick up a book with the length of the Proviso was intimidating to me. But then I started to read, then I was invested in the characters and story so quickly and the pages flew. The book had so much to offer, three separate romances, and all of the stories so wonderfully intertwined while offering a lot to think about.

Each character had their own obstacles and challenges in life and in the love they eventually found. It was impressive and enjoyable to watch each of their journeys. The author's clear handle on each of the characters shows in the way that Jovan is able to hold the reader in suspense, waiting for when they might next meet, what they will say, and how they finally find their way to one another.

Also, it is one of few books I've read where religion and politics mingle, and it was quite a ride. Like a previous reviewer mentioned, I did have stereotypes in mind when I opened this book, and it made the characters all the more human to me, because even though I am not a fan of politics, nor a member of the church, I could still relate.

Moriah Jovan has a gift with words, and a wonderful ability to make her characters so vivid. The heroes, the heroines, and everyone else that crossed their paths throughout the course of the story.

I look forward to the next installment. A wonderful debut from a new author!

Reviewed by: Amazon Reviews, 4.25 / 5 stars, 8 reviews
Amazon Reviews

EXCERPT

Knox strode across the lawn toward her, an expression on his face she couldnâ??t decipher. His well-worn jeans rode low on his hips and did nothing to hide the strength in his legs.

Likewise, his plain white tee shirt did nothing to hide the vivid musculature of his chest and arms. She re-membered what his bare chest looked like, remembered how it had felt against her bare breasts.

Knox Hilliard, her boss. Her husband.

Her lover.

He stopped right in front of her and just looked at her. She watched him as his eyes warmed and darkened, then her eyes closed.

It wasn't long in coming. He furrowed the fingers of his right hand through her hair and pulled her to him gently. His kiss was half gentle, half demanding and she vaguely wondered if he hoped that he would take her to bed right now. Pulling her body to his, he wrapped his other arm around her hips and pressed her close.

Knox's arousal pressed against her belly, their clothes doing little to soften it. Justice ran her hand over his arm, up, up until she had wrapped her arm around his neck and pulled herself as close to him as she could get.

That kiss went on and on and on. Justice loved and gloried in every second of it. He stroked her nowhere else, made no other demands, didn't talk to her. He just kissed her and she kissed him back.

The evening was silent of the man-made sounds of civilization. The birds, the cicadas, the breeze in the leaves were the only sounds, the only music that accompanied their kiss.

"You came back," Knox whispered into her mouth, still kissing her, now butterfly, sweet, light.

"You noticed."

"Why?"

"Because you let me go."